by Diana Ames
She slid her feet into the slippers and sat at the table. She would follow his orders if it killed her, and she would do it without one defiant word. Taking a few of the fragrant meats and cheeses, she made herself a sandwich and took one hard bite. Chewing, she glared at Teacher as if to ask him if he were satisfied.
“When we are in the presence of others,” Damian began, slipping into the chair across from Mellissandra, “you may stand at a normal posture. Eye contact is permissible. You are only submissive to your master and no one else. If someone asks you a direct question, you may answer. If you are unsure how to answer, it is okay to defer to me. I will not take you into the heavily traveled areas of the castle, so we should not encounter anyone. However, should we run into someone, use good manners.
“Your position here is completely unique. You are not a servant or staff of any sort, yet you are not part of the royal family. Even in this day and age, there is a class system at work here. The lowest on the totem pole are some of those that have been here for generations, like the maids, chefs, and so on. The jobs tend to be passed down from parents to children. These servants are likely to be the least accepting of you despite the fact that they are the lowest ranked among the staff.
“Next would be the security staff and the general office staff, excluding the accountants. This staff has more knowledge about what goes on around the castle, and that knowledge gives them an edge over the maids. Some of these positions are passed through families, but more often than not, because of the specialized training involved, new people are hired every few years to replace those getting too old to do their jobs. The accountants are on the same class level, but because they have access to accounts and all that entails, they tend to be second only to royalty.
“Among the most important is our medical staff. The castle medical department rivals a hospital in any large city on the continent. They serve the prince, all the servants, their families, and those who live and work inside the castle walls. No one is ever charged for care here; it’s all paid for by taxes.”
Mellissandra stilled when he described the medical department in the castle. If she could find a way to get her brother here, he could receive the best care for free. Her heart was pounding as her brain tried to reason through what she was hearing.
“Is medical care ever offered to the villages that surround the castle?” Mellissandra asked.
“Not to my knowledge,” Damian replied. He thought the question was odd, but he let it pass. Well, he was going to let it pass until she got angry.
“Why the hell not?” Mellissandra asked, jumping to her feet. “You said taxes pay for all the medical care supplied here. Don’t those villages pay taxes to the crown? Why the hell should they have to travel to take their children to a doctor? Why should dying people have to suffer because they can’t afford to move to be closer to a hospital?” Her chest was heaving, her breath coming fast and furious.
“What does it matter to you, Sandra?” he asked, addressing her by the name he’d given her. “Do you know someone who needed medical care that didn’t receive it?” His tone was low with underlying anger. “You agreed that you would give up your former life and anyone in it when you came here, Sandra.” He emphasized her name again to remind her she’d even given up that.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Mellissandra yelled. “I haven’t contacted anyone or had any means to contact anyone. I haven’t once uttered a word of complaint.” She was too furious to realize she was screaming in his face. “So what if I know someone who desperately needs medical care? The people in those villages suffer because they do not have access to what they need, and all anyone in the castle does is tax, tax, tax! The villagers get nothing in return for paying their taxes while those people living within the castle walls don’t have a care in the world.”
“Your only concern right now,” Damian said through clenched teeth, “should be for your own well-being and position.” He stood up to put himself in the power position, and leaned over to put his nose against hers. “This behavior requires punishment.” He grabbed her arm. “And I am all too happy to administer it.”
***
Anton woke up with a crick in his neck. He’d passed out on the sofa in his office after fucking Gilly again. He stood up and stretched, trying to relieve the pain shooting through his neck and now his back.
Looking at the mess on his desk, he got hard all over again. He couldn’t believe how wanton Gilly had been. It was something he’d never expected of her; she’d always been so reserved. Anton couldn’t help but feel guilty though. He knew she thought she was in love with him; perhaps she was in love with him. That made it worse somehow, like it was wrong to have sex with her knowing that she loved him in a way he would never feel for her.
Sighing, Anton began picking up the documents he’d flung to the floor in his haste to have Gilly bent over his desk. When he finally had everything back on his desk, he sat down to begin sorting out the mess. That was when he saw them—the white panties he’d ripped off of Gilly. He pulled them from the knob and ran his fingers over the still damp lace. He couldn’t resist holding them to his nose. Inhaling her sweet scent, he groaned as his cock grew hard.
Tossing the panties into the wastebasket beside his desk, Anton made up his mind to talk with Gilly that night. He knew he couldn’t allow this to continue.
***
“I’m sorry, sir, but the man you need to speak with is unavailable,” the guard said again.
“If you won’t get the man who supposedly has information,” the man said angrily, “then I’m going to go through this castle room by room until I find either him or her.”
“I can’t let you do that, sir,” the guard said. “And as much as I’d hate to do it, if you try to search the castle, I will be forced to lock you up.”
“I’ve already been away from my family too long,” the man said. “I need to get home and back to work.”
“And I’ve already told you to leave your phone number. Someone will be in contact with you as soon as possible,” the guard said impatiently.
“Can’t you even confirm for me that she’s here, so I can let her mother know she’s somewhere safe at least?” the man pleaded.
“If I had that information, I would give it to you, sir. All I can do is pass along her description to the rest of the staff and to those in charge. If someone has seen her here, or even if no one has, someone will be in contact with you.”
Turning to a panel of telephones, the guard picked one up. “I need an escort for our…guest,” he said.
The guard felt guilty for lying to the man. Although he was sure someone would call him, he knew the woman the man was looking for was here in the castle. But the guard also knew that the woman had agreed to cut ties with anyone from her past. So, when contacted, the man wouldn’t be given any information.
Within minutes, two guards arrived ready to take the irate man out of the castle. Knowing he was getting nowhere fast, the man allowed himself to be escorted out of the castle. The two guards didn’t leave the man until he was past the walls and on his way back to his village. Looking back only once, he walked the short distance to his home without his daughter.
***
“You’re going to punish me for having an opinion?” Mellissandra shrieked. She darted to the other side of the room, putting the bed between them. “What are you going to do? Drag me into that room and whip me?” she shouted, showing no signs of lowering her voice.
Hearing about everyone inside the castle walls having the best medical care available to them at the expense of the taxes being paid by those in the villages had ignited her temper. As images of her brother lying thin, sickly, and in pain flashed before her eyes, Mellissandra lost all hopes of maintaining the simpering meek woman she’d been portraying. And now, this man wanted to punish her for it.
“How many times do I have to tell you? That room is not for punishment!” Damian yelled back at her. He knew it was very bad for him to los
e control of his temper; he was supposed to be the cool, calm master. Punishment could not be about anger, but this redheaded witch in front of him had pushed him too far. “And you’re not being punished for your damn opinions! It’s how you chose to convey those opinions,” he said, drawing in a deep breath. “You never, ever scream at your master.”
“You’re not my damn master!” she swore at him.
He was coming around the bed after her. While her heart thumped with anger and fear, she looked for another avenue of escape. The bathing chamber door was on the opposite side of the bed from where she was standing and she wasn’t sure if it had a lock, so that wasn’t a viable option. There was no way in hell she was going to run for the torture room door. Her only chance to get away was to run for the doors leading to the hallway, hoping he hadn’t locked them when he came inside.
“I am anything I say I am,” Damian said furiously. “You are at my mercy, which is right where you asked to be. Anything you have or want is at my whim to give or take away.” He stopped a few feet away from her. “Remove the clothing, Sandra,” he told her, his voice deadly serious.
Mellissandra used his momentary pause and dashed for the doors. Just as her hand reached a knob, Damian grabbed her. Forcibly turning her around, he slammed her back against the doors. He pushed his body flush against hers and secured her hands above her head.
“If you want to leave, I will show you the way out,” he whispered in her ear. “Choose now, Sandra, because it will be the last time I offer the decision to you.” His breath was hot on her neck, his lips against her skin. “If you choose to stay, you will be punished. You will be punished for shouting at me, for running from me, and for refusing to remove the clothing that belongs to me.” He nibbled lightly on her neck. “But after your punishment, I will give you pleasure that you have never experienced before. If you decide to leave, you will never experience the extent of the pleasure I can show you.”
Mellissandra couldn’t seem to think with his lips on her neck and him pressed so tightly against her. It sent waves of heat from her head down to her toes. She didn’t realize her hands were free until she felt him unzipping the back of the purple dress before he slid it down her shoulders. The dress fell to the floor in a puddle, and when his rough palms found her nipples, she nearly fell with it.
“So, what will it be, Sandra?” Damian asked in a low, seductive voice.
“I’ll stay,” she said softly.
***
“Dr. Gilly,” a nurse called from behind the desk as Gilly was making her rounds. “Patient Felix is running a high fever.”
“I was on my way to her room now,” Gilly replied. “Is she awake?”
“No, Doctor. She regained consciousness after her surgery this morning, but she went to sleep after we gave her some pain meds. We can’t seem to rouse her, and the fever is at 104.3,” the nurse told her in a concerned tone of voice.
“How long has she been like this?” Gilly asked, reaching for the chart. On the outside, she presented herself as a professional, concerned doctor. On the inside, however, she was grinning with glee. It appears that things are going perfectly.
“Oh, not long, Doctor,” the nurse said quickly. “Considering the drugs she was given, we weren’t concerned with her sleeping until about an hour ago when we discovered the fever.”
Pretending to be disgusted, Gilly walked away from the desk. If she were truly concerned, the nurse would be fired for not checking a fever that high for an hour. As it was though, this one inept nurse just gave Gilly the perfect excuse to limit Jenalynn’s care strictly to herself.
Entering the room, Gilly saw another nurse sponging Jenalynn’s head and face. Gilly grabbed the chart hanging from the bottom of the bed to see that it matched the one from the nurses’ desk. Gilly gave the nurse a few more minutes to tend to Jenalynn before she told the nurse to get out.
Gilly waited ten minutes before removing the bandages from the area that was supposed to have been operated on this morning. The altered area looked perfect, as though a skin graft had been performed and was being rejected. Rearing its head in the wounds on her back, she could also see the infection she’d injected into Jenalynn.
Gilly pushed the call button and waited for one of the nurses to answer. She was surprised when they didn’t use the intercom but came into the room instead. The nurse gasped when she saw the infected skin graft.
“She’s rejecting the synthetic skin,” Gilly told her. “While it’s not an unusual occurrence, this infection has complicated things.”
“Should I call in the infection unit?” the nurse asked, turning to leave the room before she got a reply.
“No need,” Gilly said.
The nurse stopped.
“My medical training extensively covered this type of thing. I will need you to prepare an isolation room though.”
The staff knew not to question an order from Gilly. They could make minor mistakes, and Gilly would be fair with them about those, but if they hesitated in carrying out any of her commands, it was instant dismissal.
“Shall I prep a team for her as well?” the nurse asked.
“No,” Gilly said firmly. “If I’m right, this infection is highly contagious. I’ll know after a few blood tests. I don’t need staff accidentally carrying this home to their families. In addition to the isolation room, I want everyone in here to go through decontamination immediately.” Gilly turned to the nurse. “I will personally see to all of the care for this patient. The fever was discovered an hour ago. Had I been notified then, all of this might not have been necessary.”
The nurse’s eyes widened at the last statement. She knew Dr. Gilly hadn’t been notified of the fever because she was already making her rounds through the medical department. They followed protocol by waiting for her to come into their unit.
“Did I not make myself clear?” Gilly asked, irritation seeping into her voice. “Get moving. I wanted that isolation room ready twenty minutes ago. Everyone in here must be decontaminated ASAP.”
The nurse scurried to the door.
“Oh, and make sure the person readying the room has either already been decontaminated or wasn’t exposed in the first place.” Gilly grinned as the woman rushed out of the room. Oh yes, everything is falling into place.
***
Damian took Sandra by the hand and led her over to the bed. He sat and pulled her face down across his lap. Her plump ass almost made him forget what he was about to do.
“Ten swats for each transgression,” he told her huskily. “Most likely, you won’t be able to sit comfortably for a few hours.”
The first smack landed hard, hurting her buttocks. Mellissandra tried to jump up, but Damian held her in place with one firm hand on the middle of her back. The second time his hand made contact hurt worse than the first. She was determined, however, not to give him the satisfaction of her crying out or asking him to stop. Mellissandra lost count of the hits as the tears began streaming down her face. Not once, though, did she make a sound.
Halfway through, Damian couldn’t take anymore. He knew she was crying; his pant leg was soaked with her tears. He was proud of her for maintaining her pride and not begging him to stop. He laid her on the bed, placing her face down to spare her bright red ass cheeks any more pain, and then he went to run her a cool bath. He knew he shouldn’t, though, because the point of punishment was to learn to not repeat the behaviors that deserved punishment in the first place. Will she learn anything if I soothe her immediately? This woman got to him in a way no other woman ever had, and the suffering he was feeling from watching her in pain outweighed even the hangover that had him wanting to lie down and die just an hour ago.
“Come, little one,” Damian said softly when the bath was ready. “Let’s take your hurt away.”
Damian gently pulled the weeping Sandra to her feet. He knew her ass hurt, but more than that, he knew her pride was aching. She’d shown a side of herself to him with her outburst, and as a dominant
and her trainer, he’d had to squash that defiant streak. He knew the first punishment was always the worst in terms of emotional pain, but it was usually enough to get the point across. He was the master, and he would not be treated with disrespect and anger.
He led her into the bathing chamber. Her cheeks were red with tears streaking from her eyes to her chin. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and unnaturally bright, and her nose was running. He couldn’t believe the normally beautiful woman was so wrecked by a spanking.
As he began taking off his clothing, he watched her eyes go wide. He cursed himself as he realized she had never seen a naked man before.
“I’m going to get in the tub first and put you in my lap,” he told her softly. “I can help keep the pressure off your bottom and let the water soothe away your hurt.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “I’m sorry I had to punish you, little one. It hurt me more than it hurt you, I assure you,” he whispered.
Pulling away, he undressed to his boxer shorts. He would get into the water still partially dressed. Being responsible for one trauma per day was enough for him, and at this point, he was sure she didn’t want anything that would require him being nude. He stepped into the deep tub and pulled her in with him. Settling into one of the deep seats, he tugged her onto his lap.
Mellissandra was still in shock from the spanking. She had never been spanked before in her life, even when she’d misbehaved as a child. It had been painful, yes, but it’d killed her pride to be treated as though she were a naughty toddler. She’d bitten her tongue to keep from crying out and begging him to stop.
It’d confused her when he’d stopped before her punishment was over. She’d lost count of the smacks at ten, but he’d stopped shortly after. Mellissandra knew there was no way he’d reached thirty. She wasn’t complaining; she had felt relieved when he’d stopped. Then, he’d gently laid her on the bed in a position that wouldn’t cause her further pain, and now, he’d gotten into the bathtub of cool water he ran just for her so she wouldn’t have to put pressure on her ass. She didn’t understand how he could beat her one moment and then be so gentle the next.
